Special Needs

Special needs and securement experts weighed in on a troubling incident last year of an improperly restrained, wheelchair-bound special needs student falling to the floor of the school bus while the vehicle is in motion.

The parents of Hun Joon “Paul” Lee settled with a local Whittier, California school bus contractor for $23.5 million as a result of the 19-year-old student's death onboard his school bus nearly two years ago after being left by a substitute driver.

While recognizing the unparalleled safety record of yellow school buses, Bellwether Education Partners sponsored a panel discussion this month in the nation’s capital to discuss if evolution of the school bus industry can continue through increased collaboration with metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)

Mobility has plays an important role for school bus drivers, aids, attendants and managers when it comes to daily fleet operations. Unfortunately, the challenge of securing mobility devices is still playing a large role within the industry.

Having lived most of my adult life in the rarified air of Colorado, I am still not surprised that the Supreme Court, ruling on March 22 in the Endrew F. case, brought special educators and related services personnel “down to earth.” In fact, despite my retirement, the opinion in what advocates have called “the most significant special-education issue to reach the high court in three decades,” challenged me to think about practical implications for school transportation providers. I had predicted that if the Supremes “raised the bar” of FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education, the cornerstone of federal law’s requirements for students with disabilities), as many predicted they would, it would not necessarily mean frantic revamping of IEP provisions relating to school transportation. In an effort to calm transportation professionals’ nerves now that any thought that offering “de minimis” educational benefits are enough has been tossed out of the window, I practically begged to write this article.

On Thursday state Sen. Tony Mendoza from California presented a replica of the school bus safety bill he introduced last year to the parents of a Whittier, Calif., teen with Autism who died after being left on a school bus on a sweltering day, according to the Whittier Daily News.

Riding the school bus is largely a privilege and not a right. Many states spell this out in their regulations. However, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the related service of transportation as a right of certain students to receive a free and appropriate education, or FAPE, based upon their needs as related in their Individualized Education Program. Likewise, Title I and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act mandate that schools provide transportation service for low-income and at-risk students.

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